Finding a comfortable spot, and with Ariana lying curled up in front of me with my front pressed tightly to her back, I mumbled through the fabric, “Night, baby.”
“Night, Parker.”
It’d crossed my mind that we might not get back to sleep, but both of us conked out almost immediately.
This time, I wasn’t woken up by a canine gas leak. I didn’t have any nightmares. I didn’t even move an inch. No, I slept deeply and comfortably, spooning Ariana the whole time. It was the first time in years I’d been able to do that, and I loved everything about it.The next morning…
“I’ll make the coffee,” I called over my shoulder, shoes in my hand as I walked toward the top of the stairs. “I don’t have to be in until twelve, so we’ve got plenty of time.”
I needed to get home, shave, and get dressed, but that wouldn’t take long at all.
Just as I started down the staircase, I saw the group standing at the bottom, watching me. All four of her brothers were standing with their arms crossed over their chests. What was freaky about them was the same blank expressions they were wearing, not giving anything away.
Knowing it was best to get it over with, I walked down the stairs, making sure not to show any emotions back to them. That didn’t mean I couldn’t act like nothing was wrong to freak them out, though, right?
“Morning! Y’all want coffee?”
It was Tate who reared his arm back, almost too quickly for me to realize what he was doing until I saw his fist coming toward my face when I got to the bottom of the steps. Knowing he’d just keep on trying until he got this hit in, I took it and braced to stop from landing on my ass.
“You hurt her and, I’ll kick your ass,” he warned, wearing his usual smile on his face. He was creepy like that, just like Cole.
“Yeah, and I’ll help him,” Archer added with a scowl that was a complete contrast to his brother’s smile.
Spinning around, Levi put his hands on his hips. “We drew straws, asshole. You got to hit him, Archer gets to kick his ass, I get to help, and Noah distracts Na-na.”
“Jesus Christ, they’re a bunch of little bitches,” Noah muttered, looking up at the ceiling.
“No one’s kicking anyone’s ass,” a female voice warned from behind us, and I looked over my shoulder and saw Ari glaring down at her brothers.
I’ll give them credit—all four of them cringed when they saw how pissed she was.
“I’ve never tit punched any of the women in your life—even though I’ve wanted to badly,” she added, her eyes shooting to Archer and Levi. “You’ve done your thing, now you can leave.”
Rubbing his chin, Noah considered her words. “Mmm, no, I don’t think we want to. He promised us coffee, and you know how Levi gets without it, Na-Na.”
“You guys are a pain in the ass,” she hissed as she walked deeper into the kitchen.
Noah’s face lit up at this. “Speaking of asses, I think your dog left you a gift by the sink.”
Only five seconds later, Ari exploded. “You’ve got a damn doggy door, you little shit. I even got the one that opens itself so you don’t have to push on it, and I had motion-activated lights put in so you don’t go potty in the dark.”
A small whine sounded from one of the dogs, and I actually felt sorry for it.
The dogs were smart as hell, though, because she sighed loudly. “I know, it was one of their faults you had problems last night, bud. I’ll fix it.” Then, spinning and sending the most venomous glance I’d ever seen from her—and I thought I’d had them all after what I’d done—at her brothers, she growled, “Which one of you stupid shit heads did it?”
All four of them immediately took a step back at the same time, but it was Archer who asked, “What do you mean?”
Advancing on them slowly, she explained, “One of you fed Hanky something with wheat in it, even though I’ve told you repeatedly he has a wheat intolerance.”
Smiling at their discomfort, I hopped up on top of one of the countertops to watch the show. This was seriously amusing.
One by one, they all walked back to the door, Noah holding a hand out behind him to protect himself from bumping into anything. When he hit the wall, he navigated to the right, finally finding the door handle and throwing it open.
“It wasn’t me,” he shouted, disappearing out of it.
The others all shook their heads and did the same thing, but at the last moment, Tate stuck his head around the door. “It was Rebel. She was throwing Cheerios to the dogs when we walked past yesterday. Sorry!”